A fallen tree blocks a road due to the overnight storm in Brighton, southern England on Oct 28, 2013. Britain faced travel chaos on and over 200,000 homes were without power as one of the worst storms in years battered southern England, sweeping at least one person out to sea. AFP
LONDON: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is supposed to kick start his first day working visit to Manchester, has cancelled the visit due to the severe St Jude storm sweeping through England and Wales.
Strong gale-force winds have prompted travel warnings issued by the authorities and transport companies, advising travellers to check train and flight schedules regularly.
The St Jude storm, the worst in a decade, is expected to bring winds at almost 100mph, resulting in commuters being stranded due to disruptions to road, rail and air transport services.
Najib was scheduled to take the government aircraft from the Luton Airport to Manchester to attend the 1Malaysia for Youth (iM4U) and meet local communities residing in Manchester.
Malaysian journalists, who were covering the working visit, were on standby since 6am and was informed on the decision at 9 am today.
"The prime minister has to cancel the trip to Manchester due to bad weather, which led to an advice against flying," Najib's press secretary Datuk Tengku Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad told Malaysian journalists here Monday.
Despite the cancellation, Najib will still attend the reception hosted by the City of London Corporation later today at the Old Library Guidhall in Gresham Street in conjunction with the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF)
held from Oct 29 to Oct 31.
Najib, who arrived in London early Sunday morning from Kuala Lumpur, is currently here for a working visit to Manchester and London from Oct 27 to Oct 31. - Bernama
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